Spain Park roars past Rebels in region opener
VESTAVIA HILLS — Braxton Barker raced around the left side of his offensive line and turned his eyes toward the end zone. Twenty-one yards later, the Spain Park High School senior quarterback arrived at his destination.
Barker raised one finger in the air as he scampered across the goal line, then bumped shoulder pads with his teammate, Darrian Stringer, who helped create the open lane.
“We went fast just to try to catch them off guard,” Barker said of the play. “I faked to D’Arie [Johnson] and ran, and there were great blocks on the outside. I happened to get in.”
Barker’s smooth run extended Spain Park’s lead to three possessions in the second quarter of its Class 7A, Region 3 opener at Vestavia Hills. Barker finished the game with a third of his team’s 199 yards rushing as the Jags motored past the Rebels, 33-14, on Friday night at Thompson Reynolds Stadium. It was Spain Park’s fourth straight victory over Vestavia Hills.
“This is a tough place to win games, so I’m very proud that we got the win,” Jags head coach Shawn Raney said.
Spain Park (3-0, 1-0 Region 3) adhered to Raney’s tried-and-true formula for the third game this season. It ran effectively, protected the football and played well on both defense and special teams. The Jags have yet to turn the ball over in 2017. On Friday, they forced three Vestavia Hills fumbles.
“We’ve got to continue to do that,” Barker said. “You win the turnover battle and you normally win the game.”
The Rebels (0-2, 0-1 in region) fumbled twice in the first quarter, including on the opening kickoff, and Spain Park wasted no time to capitalize on the miscue. Running back D’Arie Johnson scored on a 6-yard touchdown rush two minutes in.
The Rebels secured the ball on the ensuing kickoff, but three plays later coughed it up for a second time. A snap sailed over quarterback Sean Smyth’s head on third-and-13 and sputtered into the Vestavia Hills end zone.
Spain Park linebacker Hayes Cole outran Smyth to the spinning football and dove on top of it. Cole Starr’s extra point gave the Jags a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
“It was unreal,” Raney said. “We got off to a hot start, and I think that really helped us.”
Two Starr field goals and Barker’s rushing touchdown provided Spain Park a 26-7 edge at the intermission. Vestavia Hills dented the scoreboard on a 2-yard rush from William Schaffeld, who led the Rebels with 80 yards on 16 carries.
Both teams added a second-half touchdown. Jags running back Jalen Henderson punched it in from 1 yard in third quarter, and the Rebels’ Matthew Paugh sprinted 39 yards down the right sideline in the fourth. Henderson paced the Jags with 90 yards on 24 carries, the bulk of which came in the second half.
“We didn’t give up, and we kept on fighting until the end,” said Vestavia Hills safety Spencer Lawson. "Spain Park’s a good team.”
Both squads will continue region play next Friday. Vestavia Hills will host Oak Mountain, and Spain Park will host rival Hoover.
The Jags will need to focus on reducing their penalties if they hope to improve to 4-0. They were flagged 12 times for 112 yards in Friday’s victory.
“We’ve got a lot of work to get fixed next week,” Raney said. “It’ll be a fun game.”